AACTA International Awards - winners

The newly formed Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) held their first ever AACTA International Awards ceremony tonight at Soho House in West Hollywood. AACTA President Geoffrey Rush hosted the event and announced the winners.

Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist proved triumphant yet again, in winning Best Film. Hazanavicius also picked up Best Director, while Jean Dujardin claimed his first major win over Best Actor frontrunner George Clooney. The Artist had been tied with several nominees for the lead with four nominations.

Its competitors for Best Film had been The Descendants, Hugo, The Ides of March, Margin Call , Melancholia, Midnight In Paris, Moneyball , The Tree of Life and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

George Clooney did, however, earn an award as one of the screenwriters of The Ides of March. The screenplay award was shared in a tie with Margin Call.

The Best Actress Award went to Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady. Her competition for the AACTA Award included Michelle Williams and Glenn Close but not Viola Davis.

The main portion of the Inaugural Samsung AACTA Awards will take place at the Sydney Opera House on January 31 and be broadcast live on Australian TV.

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Complete winners for the Inaugural AACTA International Awards

BEST FILM
The Artist – Thomas Langmann (The Weinstein Company)

BEST DIRECTION
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Margin Call - J.C. Chandor

BEST ACTOR
Jean Dujardin – The Artist

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady